Kenya Air Force will acquire the aircraft with the new wings says L3’s Vice President Pat Penland. He also said that his company is working round the clock to fulfill Kenya's Order since the country 'desperately' needs it to combat Al Shabbab terrorists and the aircraft order will be fulfilled within months.

According to him, the LONGSWORD is more optimized to deal with pirates, smugglers and terrorists."

According to Mr. Penland, he said that the Kenyan Air Force is would acquire 12 armed LONGSWORDs and two Air Tractor AT 504s, a smaller version of the AT802L with a side by side cockpit, which will be used for training. The first set could be delivered within 18 months.

The new features and armaments in the Longsword includes:

A new enhanced glass cockpit

Garmin G600 system

Thales SCORPION Helmet Mounted Display

Enhanced situational awareness

Better field of view

MX-15D HD EO/IR turret with laser designator.

Dual screen Primary/Multifunction display

L3 ForceX Widow mission management system

A three-axis digital autopilot for better stability

An air data computer and attitude/heading reference system

Electronic Standby Instrument System.

A digital intercommunication system

While newly added weapons includes

HELLFIRE precision attack missile

LAZU-19 rocket launchers

2.75in laser guided rockets,

500lb GBU-12 laser guided bombs

Dillon 30 calibre gunpods

Kenyan Air Force to buy the AT802L LONGSWORD.
Reviewed by African Military Blog
on
June 21, 2017
Rating: 5